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Doel nuclear power plant in Flanders was symbolically blockaded
End point of 150-kilometre march commemorating Chernobyl nuclear disaster
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Activists marking the commemoration of Chernobyl disaster at the Doel nuclear power plant (NPP) near
Antwerp. A symbolic blockade of the NPP marked the end of a
150-km march organised by Friends of the Earth Belgium where they demand a
worldwide ban of this dangerous and expensive technology.
Photo credit: Lode Saidane. Click on the photos to get high resolution. |
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Brussels, 26 April 2006 - Activists from all parts of Belgium at 0:23 a.m. this night symbolically blockaded the nuclear power plant of Doel near Antwerp to commemorate the exact time of the explosion at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant 20 years ago.
Activists in a torch-lit procession came by foot from nearby Kieldrecht. They were united by one demand: A global and rapid phase out of nuclear power. They commemorated with a symbolic death the thousands of victims of the world's most deadly nuclear disaster that sent a nuclear cloud over Europe.
Later the same day, other peaceful protest actions will take place in Doel.
The Doel plant is the last leg of a 150-kilometre walk that started from Tihange nuclear power plant near Namur in Wallonia on April 15. The march is organised by Les Amis de la Terre and Mother Earth, the Wallonia and Flemish members in Belgium of Friends of the Earth International.
This activity is part of a European-wide campaign to collect one million signatures asking for a halt to all EU investments in the nuclear industry. It is organised by the biggest coalition of anti-nuclear groups that Europe has seen for a long time. It demands that all European governments phase-out nuclear power and scrap the "Euratom" treaty promoting it within the EU.
The petition campaign is organised by Atomstopp and GLOBAL 2000 in Austria, Friends of the Earth Europe in Brussels, Sortir du Nucléaire in France, WISE in Netherlands and Women for Peace in Finland. It is actively supported by more about 200 NGOs.
The petition can be signed on-line on www.million-against-nuclear.net/#sign or www.motherearth.org/tour/petitie.php
Contact:
Pol D'Huyvetter from Mother Earth, mobile +32 495 280259
Fouad Hamdan, Director of Friends of the Earth Europe, mobile +32 485 656675
Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and fair societies and for the protection of the environment,
unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups
and is part of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.
